'Muruianu case' gives headaches

After holding a closed-door meeting for about two hours, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) decided to continue questioning the Supreme Court of Justice president Ion Muruianu, Info-Prim Neo reports. At the beginning of Thursday's sitting of the Parliament, Speaker Mihai Ghimpu proposed postponing examining the 'Muruianu case'. Afterward, the AEI announced a break. After about two hours, when the MPs returned to the assembly hall, Ghimpu said he decided to withdraw his proposal. The president of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Serafim Urecheanu said it is the Parliament that will decide the fate of Ion Muruianu. He avoided saying if there were dissenting views on the issue inside the Alliance. “It's normal to discuss. The Parliament is not mute anymore,” Urecheanu said. “It will be ideal if Muruianu resigns if he is responsible for what he said. If not, the Parliament will make a decision in accordance with the law,” said the leader of the Democrat Party Marian Lupu, adding the Democratic faction will vote in favor of Muruianu's dismissal if the Supreme Council of Magistrates decides so. The president of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat said if the AEI does not have a joint stance on Muruianu, it will mean there was a serious problem inside the Alliance. “We are now having discussions. The PLDM insists that Ion Muruianu should be dismissed because it is a matter of principle and we recommend our colleagues from the Alliance to have the same position,” Filat said. The leader of the Communist Opposition Vladimir Voronin reiterated that Ion Muruianu is the most honest judge. “The present government wants to teach the judges a lesson by discharging Muruianu. The judges are told to fulfill orders, not to act according to the law. They started with Muruianu because he is the head of the supreme court,” Voronin said. He also said he received yet no answer to the letter he sent to European institutions, informing them about the Alliance's intention to discharge Ion Muruianu. Ion Muruianu started to be quizzed at the February 26 meeting of the Parliament. As the quorum was not present, the legislative body could not take a decision.